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KRO VAR COULD BE quite beautiful at times. The morning after their narrow escape, Obi-Wan stood outside watching the sun rise over the mountain range in the distance. The Elkies, he recalled. They had appeared so imposing just last night, but in the light they looked almost welcoming
He sensed Alysia behind him, lingering at the entrance to the cave. Flashes of the fight in the palace came back to him. They hadn't spoken more than a few words last night. Mostly from sheer exhaustion, although Obi-Wan couldn't deny how troubled he felt. He knew Alysia had been removed from the heart of Jedi affairs for a long time. What he hadn't been prepared for was how much she had changed because of it. The air around her now felt distinctly different than that of other Jedi.
He decided to address the thing that worried him more than anything else. "You don't have your lightsaber," he mused out loud.
A lightsaber was a defining feature of a Jedi. They wielded it for countless hours and practiced until it became an extension of themself. Giving up a lightsaber indicated a resignation that he disliked seeing on her.
It took her a few moments to respond. "I haven't used it for some time," she admitted. "It didn't feel right anymore."
"But why?" Obi-Wan pressed.
"I tried, a few years ago," she admitted. There was a tenseness to her voice that indicated she didn't like talking about this particular subject. "And it felt so heavy. Like I was blocked."
"Perhaps it's this planet," Obi-Wan suggested after a moment. "I've felt it too. The Force does not want to be called here."
"But how can that be?" Alysia wondered. She had been grappling with the thought for years. "The Force is everywhere."
"I believe I understand," Obi-Wan said slowly. "The Force desires balance more than anything. But Kro Var is becoming a black hole. There is darkness here like I have not felt in a long time."
Her gut reaction was to defend the planet and its people. But perhaps there was truth to his accusation. As much as she disliked his theory, it aligned with her own experience. "I don't know why, but I haven't felt like myself in a long time," she admitted.
Obi-Wan faced her with a sudden spark. "Then come back to Coruscant," he said earnestly. "You're a Jedi, Alysia. It's where you belong."
Alysia looked up at him. "Do you really believe that?" she asked. It was clear how much she needed his support. Obi-Wan never lied to her, and her trust in him was something she couldn't express in words.
"I do," he said with such earnestness Alysia had no doubt that he meant it. "And we need you."
The expression on her face became distant. For years she had lived in exile, and now the conditions of her return were clear. Even if they weren't to Obi-Wan. "You need me to fight a war."
